Free Business Ebook: 50 Ways to Plan for Small Business Success

Planning for business success can make the difference between a thriving, profitable company and a business on life support.

Now is the perfect time to reflect on the changes you want or need to make in your business. Whether your business is gasping for air or ready to improve its peak performance, employing practical achievement principles can catalyze your small business success.

To help you get started, YFS Magazine has curated a collection of best practices – in collaboration with leading entrepreneurs across multiple industries – to reveal our favorite proven success strategies.

In today’s dynamic global business environment, with increased access to knowledge (by way of the Internet), collaborative resources, lower barriers to startup entry, and crowdsourced capital every entrepreneur can effectively plan for small business success.

Here’s a sneak peek at five (of our 50) proven small business success tips to help you get started:

1. Manage your cash flow. According to Bill Clark, President and Founder of MicroVenture Marketplace, “Your bottom line is extremely important, and overspending could make the difference in whether or not you are able to grow and be profitable. Review your budget quarterly, at a minimum, and look for ways to cut your costs and operate more efficiently without cannibalizing the customer experience…”

2. Shut up and listen to your customers. “A Fortune 100-sized company, one of our larger clients, recently came to us for a solution that we thought already existed. When we discovered that it did not exist, we asked, “Why not just create it ourselves?” If a larger company is looking for a specific solution, imagine how many other companies might be as well,” said Kenny Nguyen, CEO and Founder of Big Fish Presentations.

3. Lose excess business weight. Nina Kaufman, Esq., CEO & Founder at Kaufman Law PLLC suggests that, “In a still-fragile economy, now is the time to get lean and strong. Stop doing things that are unproductive and not giving you leverage. Release underperforming employees, lackadaisical suppliers, and unprofitable product or service lines. Your body cannot carry excess weight well, and neither can your business.”

4. Be present. Tony Gaskins, CEO & Founder, Gaskins Productions recommends, “Do not work against the past or stress over the future. Take care of the moments, and the days will take care of themselves. Innovate every second of the day, and that innovation will separate you by light years from those who attempt to compete with you.”

5. Set clear content marketing goals and milestones. “Today, many small businesses hear ‘content marketing’ and mistake it for a silver bullet, said Lindsey Donner, Co-founder of Well Versed Creative. “But, a silver bullet for what? Hiring a writer, team, or agency to produce business content is useless if there is no end target… Who is your target market? Will you leverage content to drive traffic, educate leads, or simply grow brand reputation? What metrics will you use to define success?”

Erica Nicole is the Founder and CEO of YFS Magazine -- a Young, Fabulous & Self-Employed brand. She is an accomplished serial entrepreneur, acclaimed small business advisor, dynamic speaker, syndicated columnist, philanthropist and Christian thought leader. She has been featured in Forbes, Fox Business, Entrepreneur Magazine, The Huffington Post, Business Insider, Mashable, AOL.com, and many more national media outlets. Connect with Erica on Twitter @YFSEricaNicole.